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Thursday, February 26, 2015

From Wikipedia" The third ship to be named USS Enterprise, was a schooner, built by Henry Spencer at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1799, whose command was given to Lieutenant John Shaw.
This ship was overhauled and rebuilt several times, effectively
changing from a twelve gun schooner to a fourteen gun topsail schooner
and eventually to a brig. On 17 December 1799, Enterprise departed the Delaware Capes for the Caribbean to protect United States merchantmen from the depredations of French privateers during the Quasi-War with France. Within the following year, Enterprise
captured eight privateers and liberated 11 American vessels from
captivity, achievements which assured her inclusion in the 14 ships
retained in the Navy after the Quasi-War. Placing her for sale was suggested in mid-March 1801.After Lieutenant Shaw, due to ill health, was relieved by Lieutenant Andrew Sterett, Enterprise sailed to the Mediterranean. Being delayed by getting new masts, she left Baltimore in early May 1801. Raising Gibraltar on 26 June 1801, where she was to join other U.S. warships in the First Barbary War.

Enterprise's first action came on 1 August 1801 when, just west of Malta, she defeated the 14-gun Tripolitan corsairTripoli, after a fierce but one-sided battle. Unscathed, Enterprise sent the battered pirate into port since the schooner's orders prohibited taking prizes.The action was described in Washington City's National Intelligencer & Adv. on 18 November 1801.

Naval Victory
Yesterday captain Sterret, commander of the schooner Enterprize, part of the Mediterranean squadron, arrived here, with dispatches for the Secretary of the Navy.
Captain Sterret is bearer of dispatches from commodore Dale, which
exhibit a detailed account of the proceedings and situation of the
Mediterranean squadron.
On the 1st of August, the schooner Enterprize, commanded by captain Sterret, and carrying 12 six pounders and 90 men, bound to Malta for a supply of water, fell in with a Tripolitan cruizer, being a ship of 14 six pounders, manned by 80 men.
At this time the Enterprize bore British colours. Captain Sterret
interrogated the commander of the Tripolitan on the object of his
cruize. He replied that he came out to cruise after the Americans, and
that he lamented that he had not come alongside of some of them. Captain
Sterret, on this reply, hoisted American, in the room of British
colours; and discharged a volley of musquetry; which the Tripolitan
returned by a partial broadside.—This was the commencement of a hard
fought action, which commenced at 9 am and continued for three hours.
Three times, during the action, the Tripolitan attempted to board the Enterprize,
and was as often repulsed with great slaughter, which was greatly
increased by the effective aid afforded by the Marines. Three times,
also, the Tripolitan struck her colours, and as often treacherously
renewed the action, with the hope of disabling the crew of captain
Sterret, which, as is usual, when the enemy struck her colours, came on
deck, and exposed themselves, while they gave three cheers as a mark of
victory.
When for the third time, this treacherous attack was made, captain
Sterret gave orders to sink the Tripolitan, on which a scene of furious
combat ensuded, until the enemy cried for mercy.
Captain Sterret, listening to the voice of humanity, even after such
perfidious conduct, ordered the captain either to come himself, or to
send some of his officers on board the Enterprize. He was
informed that the boat of the Tripolitan was so shattered as to be unfit
for use. He asked, what security there was, that if he should send his
men in his own boat, they would not be murdered?
After numerous supplications & protestations the boat was sent: The
crew of the Tripolitan was discovered to be in the most deplorable
state. Out of eighty men, 20 were killed, and 30 wounded. Among the
killed were the second lieutenant and Surgeon; and among the wounded
were the Captain and first lieutenant. And so decisive was the fire of
the Enterprize that the Tripolitan was found to be in a most perilous condition, having received 18 shot between wind and water.
When we compare this great slaughter, with the fact that not a single individual of the crew of the Enterprise
was in the least degree injured, we are lost in surprise at the
uncommon good fortune which accompanied our seamen, and at the superior
management of Captain Sterrett.
All the officers and sailors manifested the truest spirit, and sustained
the greatest efforts during the engagement. All, therefore, are
entitled to encomium
for their valour and good conduct. The marines, especially, owing to
the nearness of the vessels, which were within pistol shot of each
other, were eminently useful.
After administering to the relief of the distresses of the wounded
Tripolitans, and the wants of the crew, Capt. Sterrett ordered the ship
of the enemy to be completely dismantled. Her masts were accordingly all
cut down, and her guns thrown overboard. A spar was raised, on which
was fixed, as a flag, a tattered sail; and in this condition the ship
was dismissed.
On the arrival of the Tripolitan ship at Tripoli, so strong was the sensations of shame and indignation excited there, that the Bey ordered the wounded captain to be mounted on a Jack Ass, and paraded thro' the streets as an object of public scorn. After which he received 500 bastinadoes.
So thunderstruck were the Tripolitans at this event, and at the
apprehended destruction of their whole marine force, that the sailors,
then employed at Tripoli on board of cruisers that were fitting out by
the government, all deserted them, and not a man could be procured to
navigate them.

On 3 February 1802, the U.S. Congress resolved that a commemorative
sword should be given to Sterrett, and a month's pay to the others on
the Enterprise.

At Gibraltar on 3 October 1801, Enterprise was ordered to
return to Baltimore with dispatches for the Secretary of the Navy. While
in port, Sterett was ordered on 17 November to pay off and discharge
the crew, and that Sterett would be given a furlough and replaced after
he oversaw the ship's refitting. Master Commandant Cyrus Talbot was
offered the command, but he was discharged 23 October 1801, under the Peace Establishment Act.Her next victories came in 1803 after months of carrying despatches,
convoying merchantmen, and patrolling the Mediterranean. On 17 January,
she captured Paulina, a Tunisian ship under charter to the Bashaw (Pasha) of Tripoli, and on 22 May, she ran a 30-ton craft ashore on the coast of Tripoli. For the next month Enterprise and other ships of the squadron cruised inshore, bombarding the coast and sending landing parties to destroy enemy small craft.On 12 November 1803 Stephen Decatur assumed command of the Enterprise. On 23 December 1803, after a quiet interval of cruising, Enterprise joined with frigate Constitution to capture the Tripolitan ketch Mastico. The captured vessel was taken back to Syracuse and refitted and renamed Intrepid. Command was then turned over to Enterprise's
commander Lieutenant Decatur. Because of her regional appearance the
ketch was well suited for making its way into Tripoli's harbor without
raising suspicion and was used in a daring expedition to board, capture
and burn the frigate Philadelphia, captured by the Tripolitans and anchored in the harbor of Tripoli. Decatur and volunteers from the Enterprise carried out their mission almost perfectly, destroying the frigate and depriving Tripoli of a powerful warship.Enterprise continued to patrol the Barbary Coast until July 1804 when she joined the other ships of the squadron in general attacks on the city of Tripoli over a period of several weeks.Enterprise passed the winter in Venice, Italy,
where she was practically rebuilt by May 1805. She rejoined her
squadron in July and resumed patrol and convoy duty until August 1807.
During that period she fought (15 August 1806) a brief engagement off
Gibraltar with a group of Spanish gunboats who attacked her but were
driven off. Enterprise returned to the United States in late
1807, and cruised coastal waters until June 1809. After a brief tour in
the Mediterranean, she sailed to New York where she was laid up for nearly a year.

Repaired at the Washington Navy Yard, Enterprise was recommissioned there in April 1811, then sailed for operations out of Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina.
She returned to Washington on 2 October and was hauled out of the water
for extensive repairs and modifications: when she sailed on 20 May
1812, she had been rerigged as a brig.At sea when war was declared on Britain, she cruised along the east coast during the first year of hostilities. On 5 September 1813, Enterprise sighted and chased the brig HMS Boxer.The brigs opened fire on each other, and in a closely fought, fierce and gallant action which took the lives of both commanding officers, Enterprise captured Boxer and took her into nearby Portland, Maine, with Edward McCall in command. Here a common funeral was held for Lieutenant William Burrows, Enterprise, and Captain Samuel Blyth, Boxer, both well-known and highly regarded in their respective naval services.After repairing at Portland, Enterprise sailed in company with brig Rattlesnake,
for the Caribbean. The two ships took three prizes before being forced
to separate by a heavily armed ship on 25 February 1814. Enterprise was compelled to jettison most of her guns in order to outsail her superior antagonist. The brig reached Wilmington, North Carolina, on 9 March 1814, then passed the remainder of the war as a guardship off Charleston, South Carolina.Enterprise served one more short tour in the Mediterranean Squadron (July–November 1815), then cruised the northeastern seaboard until November 1817. In 1818 she was commanded by LieutenantLawrence Kearny of the New Orleans Squadron who evicted Jean Lafitte from Galveston, Texas. From that time on she sailed the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico as one of the founding vessels of what later became the West Indies Squadron in 1821. She was active in suppressing pirates, smugglers, and slavers; in this duty she took 13 prizes. An attack on Cape Antonio,
Cuba in October 1821 resulted in the rescue of three vessels taken by
pirates and the breaking up of an outlaw flotilla reputedly commanded by
James D. Jeffers, aka Charles Gibbs. Her long career ended on 9 July 1823, when, without injury to her crew, she stranded and broke up on Little Curacao Island in the West Indies.

Monday, February 9, 2015

"Unlike the
more benign B-9 (pun intended) of the original "Lost in Space" TV series, this movie robot was trouble from the
word "go." With its insect-like segmented body, huge lobster claws,
Schwarzenegger-esque torso and "hip arms," the robot was hell on
wheels -- er, treads -- until it was deactivated and rebuilt by the always-intrepid
boy-genius Will Robinson.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

The Cadillac V-16 (sometimes known as the Cadillac Sixteen) was Cadillac's top-of-the-line car from its January 1930 launch until production ceased in 1940 as the war in Europe
killed sales. All were finished to custom order, and the car was built
in very small numbers; only 4076 cars were constructed in the eleven
years the model was offered. The majority of these were built in the
single year of 1930, before the Great Depression really took hold. This was the first V16 powered car to reach production status in the United States.

In 1926, Cadillac began the development of a new, "multi-cylinder"
car. A customer requirement was seen for a car powered by an engine
simultaneously more powerful and smoother than any hitherto available.
Development proceeded in great secrecy over the next few years; a number
of prototype cars were built and tested as the new engine was
developed, while at the same time Cadillac chief Larry Fisher and GM's
stylist Harley Earl toured Europe in search of inspiration from Europe's finest coachbuilders.
Unlike many builders of luxury cars, who sold bare chassis to be
clothed by outside coachbuilding firms, General Motors had purchased the
coachbuilders Fleetwood Metal Body and Fisher Body
to keep all the business in-house. Bare Cadillac chassis could be
purchased if a buyer insisted, but the intention was that few would need
to do so. One Cadillac dealer in England, namely Lendrum & Hartman,
ordered at least two such chassis in even rarer right hand drive (RHD)
configuration and had Van den Plas (Belgium) build first an elegant
limousine-landaulet (engine #702297), then a sports sedan with unusual
cycle fenders and retractable step plates in lieu of running boards
(engine #702298, which was successfully shown in various Concours
d'Elegance events in Europe before being bought by the young Nawab of Bahawalpur); both these cars have survived. A third RHD chassis was ordered by the Indian Maharaja of Orccha (Bhopal) and sent to Farina in Italy, in July 1931, for a boat tail body (engine between #703136 and #703152).It was not until after the stock market crash of 1929 that Cadillac
announced to the world the availability of the costliest Cadillac yet,
the new V-16. The new vehicle was first displayed at New York's automobile show on January 4, 1930.

The new car attracted rave reviews from the press and huge public
attention. Cadillac started production of the new car immediately.
January production averaged a couple of cars per day, but was then
ramped up to twenty-two cars per day. By April, 1,000 units had been
built, and by June, 2,000 cars. These could be ordered with a wide
variety of bodywork. The Fleetwood catalog for the 1930 V-16 included 10
basic body styles; there was also an envelope containing some 30
additional designer's drawings. Research by the Cadillac-La Salle Club,
Inc. puts at 70 the number of different job/style numbers built by
Fisher and Fleetwood on the sixteen chassis.Beginning in June 1930, five new V-16s participated in a promotional
tour of major European cities including Paris, Antwerp, Brussels,
Amsterdam, Utrecht, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Berlin, Cologne, Dresden,
Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Nuremberg, Vienna (where they won prizes),
Berne, Geneva, Lausanne, Zürich, Madrid, San Sebastian, La Baule and
Angers. On the return journey from Spain, the V16 caravan stopped also
in the town of Cadillac, in south-western France, although that city
bears no relationship to the marque, other than its name.After the peak in V-16 orders in mid-1930, production fell
precipitously. During October 1930, only 54 cars were built. The lowest
figures for the 452/452A cars of 1930–31 were August 1931 (seven units)
and November 1931 (six units). Minimum production continued throughout
the rest of the decade with a mere 50 units being built both in 1935 and
in 1937. 1940 was only marginally better with a total of 51 units. Not
surprisingly, Cadillac later estimated that they lost money on every
single V-16 they sold.Production of the original V-16 continued under various model names
through 1937. The body was redesigned in 1933 as the model 452C.
Innovations included Fisher no draft individually controlled ventilation
(I.C.V. or vent windows).For 1934, the body was redesigned again and denoted as 452D, and as 452E in 1935. The V-16 now featured the Fisher Turret Top all-steel roof, though the cars were still built by Fleetwood.
This same basic design would remain virtually unchanged through 1937.
With a wheelbase of 154.0 inches (3,912 mm) and a curb weight of up to
6,600 pounds (3,000 kg) these are perhaps the largest standard
production cars ever produced in the United States. Combined production
for the 1934 and 1935 model years was 150. It was redesignated the
Series 90 in 1936 as Cadillac reorganized their model names. Fifty-two
units were sold that year, with nearly half ordered as limousines.
Hydraulic brakes were added for 1937, the last year of production. Fifty
vehicles were produced. The Cadillac V-16 is today recognized as one of the finest automobiles of the prewar era by many authorities. The Classic Car Club of America
rates all V-16s as CCCA Full Classics, a rating reserved for only the
finest automobiles of the 1925–1948 period. Values reflect these
opinions; particularly fine examples of the 1930 production can change
hands for more than US$500,000 as of 2004. As always, convertibles are
the most valued, and the earlier cars more so than the 1938–40 vehicles.
A good condition 1938 sedan can sell for under US$80,000. Certain
custom-bodied vehicles have sold for even more.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

From Wikipedia"The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost refers both to a car model and to one specific car from that series.Originally named the "40/50 h.p." the chassis was first made at Royce's Manchester works, with production moving to Derby in July 1908, and also, between 1921 and 1926, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Chassis no. 60551, registered AX 201,
was the car that was originally given the name "Silver Ghost." Other
40/50 hp cars were also given names, but the Silver Ghost title was
taken up by the press, and soon all 40/50s were called by the name, a
fact not officially recognised by Rolls-Royce until 1925, when the
Phantom range was launched.The Silver Ghost was the origin of Rolls-Royce's claim of making the
"Best car in the world" – a phrase coined not by themselves, but by the
prestigious publication Autocar in 1907.The chassis and engine were also used as the basis of a range of Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars.

In 1906, Rolls-Royce produced four chassis to be shown at the Olympia car show, two existing models, a four-cylinder20 hp and a six-cylinder30 hp,
and two examples of a new car designated the 40/50 hp. The 40/50 hp was
so new that the show cars were not fully finished, and examples were
not provided to the press for testing until March 1907.The car at first had a new side-valve,
six-cylinder, 7036 cc engine (7428 cc from 1910) with the cylinders
cast in two units of three cylinders each as opposed to the triple
two-cylinder units on the earlier six. A three-speed transmission was
fitted at first with four-speed units used from 1913. The seven-bearing crankshaft
had full pressure lubrication, and the centre main bearing was made
especially large to remove vibration, essentially splitting the engine
into two three-cylinder units. Two spark plugs were fitted to each
cylinder with, from 1921, a choice of magneto or coil ignition. The earliest cars had used a trembler coil
to produce the spark with a magneto as an optional extra which soon
became standard - the instruction was to start the engine on the
trembler/battery and then switch to magneto. Continuous development
allowed power output to be increased from 48 bhp (36 kW) at 1,250 rpm to
80 bhp (60 kW) at 2,250 rpm. Electric lighting became an option in 1914
and was standardised in 1919. Electric starting was fitted from 1919 along with electric lights to replace the older ones that used acetylene or oil.Development of the Silver Ghost was suspended during World War I, although the chassis and engine were supplied for use in Rolls-Royce Armoured Cars.The chassis had rigid front and rear axles and leaf springs
all round. Early cars only had brakes on the rear wheels operated by a
hand lever, with a pedal-operated transmission brake acting on the
propeller shaft. The footbrake system moved to drums on the rear axle in
1913. Four-wheel servo-assisted brakes became optional in 1923.Despite these improvements the performance of the Silver Ghost's
competitors had improved to the extent that its previous superiority had
been eroded by the early 1920s. Sales declined from 742 in 1913 to 430
in 1922. The company decided to launch its replacement which was
introduced in 1925 as the New Phantom. After this, older 40/50 models were called Silver Ghosts to avoid confusion.A total of 7874 Silver Ghost cars were produced from 1907 to 1926, including 1701 from the American Springfield factory. Many of them still run today. A fine example is on display at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu.

In 1907 Claude Johnson,
Commercial and Managing Director of Rolls-Royce, ordered a car to be
used as a demonstrator by the company. With chassis no. 60551 and
registered AX 201, it was the 12th 40/50 hp to be made, and was painted in aluminium paint with silver-plated fittings. The car was named the "Silver Ghost" to emphasise its ghost-like quietness, and a plaque bearing this name adorned the bulkhead. An open-top Roi-des-Belges body by coachbuilderBarker
was fitted, and the car readied for the Scottish reliability trials of
1907 and, immediately afterwards, another 15,000-mile (24,000 km) test
which included driving between London and Glasgow 27 times.The aim was to raise public awareness of the new company and to show
the reliability and quietness of their new car. This was a risky idea:
cars of this time were notoriously unreliable, and roads of the day
could be horrendous. Nevertheless, the car set off on trials, and with
press aboard, broke record upon record. Even after 7,000 miles
(11,000 km), the cost to service the car was a negligible £2 2s 7d
(£2.13). The reputation of the 40/50, and Rolls-Royce, was established.AX201 was sold in 1908 to a private customer, who used it for his
annual vacation to Italy, and recovered by the company in 1948. Since
then, it has been used as a publicity car and travelled worldwide. In
1989, the car was restored by SC Gordon Coachbuilders Luton, and P&A
Wood, London, UK. It is now owned by Bentley Motors.In 1984, the car was photographed in great detail whilst in storage in Luton by precision model makers Franklin Mint. This die-cast model went on to become one of their best-selling products.The Silver Ghost is considered the most valuable car in the world; in 2005 its insured value was placed at US$35 million.